Rules To Live By
by Kaz Gemcity
Summary: This is a series of stories, mostly set in the past, but with references to episodes, about where Gibbs rules came from.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N- This is going to be a series of oneshots. If you read the summery than don't read the next sentence. These onehots are based on Gibbs rules and where they came from. Okay, thank you for reading. Methinks you will like. (And yes, methinks is really a word!)**_

******Rule 12: Never Date a Co-Worker**

Eleven Years Ago

The day was coming to a close, but the night was just beginning. The small red haired woman was stowing the camera and taking out the bourbon in the attic room. Her partner, an older man, not old just older than the woman, walked in from the small kitchen. He had cooked that night. Not unusual.

"Jen, you can't boil water without burning it." He would say to they red haired woman. He thought her hair looked like silk. It was not true, that she couldn't cook, but compared to his meals it was. Jen often wondered where the recipes came from. Sometimes she would ask.

"Jethro, where did you learn to cook fancy French steak?" When this conversation came up he would smile and ask if she tried the wine.

But this night was different. Jethro's fancy French steak was not what was on Jen's mind. His soft pink lips were. Jen had found that she had fallen in love with this man, though he was almost ten years older than she. Jen could tell that Jethro cared for her too, but before this night there was always something between them. Something that he would not talk about. Something she dared not bring up.

Jethro had finished the dishes and was leaning against the door frame, watching as Jen's eyes traveled his body. He was an expert at reading body language, and knew the look in her eyes. He himself had had the same look in his eyes when looking at Shannon. But Shannon was gone and he had not felt the same way for somebody since. Jethro could tell that longing was returning to his heart. It surprised him that he could feel again, he didn't expect it. It had been four years since their deaths, and he had married four more times. When this mission was assigned to him, he had just finished another messy divorce. Jethro vowed to himself to never get married again, it was too much pain.

He pushed those thoughts from his mind. It was a beautiful night in France. The stars were shinning and the moon was full. Jethro let his eyes roam, and was not surprised when they landed on Jen. He walked over and kissed her. Slowly at first, but she did not reject him. The kiss deepened and strengthened, until finally the fell to the small pull-out couch/bed. It was pulled out. One thing led to another and the rest is not quite history.

Both awoke at the same time, facing opposite directions. A white sheet covered their bare bodies. Neither regreted what they had done. It was the beginning of a relationship that would last until Jen decided to leave her post as an NCIS undercover field agent. She moved to her late father's house in Washington and began to build her career. Their last words were not ones of good faith. Jethro was heart broken. He had fallen in love and again it was taken from him. Jen was sorry, but she told him that it was time for her to do what was right for her career. SHe wanted to be director of NCIS, and she couldn't do that being in a relationship with Jethro.

They would meet again. Jen would achieve her dream, and become Director. But something from before would be her demise. She did not complete mer mission in France. Did not kill, and in the end it would kill her. Though she put up on hell of a fight, as was her way. Again Jethro's heart would break for her, because they had never admitted that they still felt for each other. It was the night that their togetherness ended that Rule Twelve was formed. Never date a co-worker. The unwritten end of the rule? It always leads to pain.

_**A/N- I hope you like it! Remember, read AND review!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N- Before we get started, I wanted to say thank-you to one of my best friends. I am a little bit of a perfectionist, and recently I failed a test/quiz. It kinda put a damper on my day. When I told this friend, who we will call Da Vinci, he looked at me and said,_**

**_"Get over it. You are gonna fail in life. Life is about failure. And getting back up after that failure." _**

**_At the end of the day, which was when he said it, he's right. Life is about trying, failing, and trying again. It is the best advice I have gotten in a while. And you know what? As negative as that advice sounds, it made me smile. And I told him so. _**

**_So to one of my best friends, my BBF, my Da Vinci - THANK YOU!_**

**Rule 22: Never, Ever, Interrupt Gibbs In Interrogation **

About Ten Minutes Ago

"You did what, Sargent?" Gibbs yelled, getting right up in the man's face. The muscular man, who was alone in the room with Gibbs, glanced around as if looking for an exit. Unfortunately for him, there was none available.

"I, well. . . . I picked up the. . . " Gibbs tried to hide his smile. After almost ten hours in custody, the man was finally confessing to murdering his CO, by stabbing him in the chest seven times.

The man stopped speaking as the door to Interrogation Room 1 opened. DiNozzo peeked his head in.

"Uh, Boss. I think we have a problem." He muttered. After only a few days on the job, Jethro still scared him. With a last glance at the man in the chair, Gibbs strode out of the room.

"You think DiNozzo? He was about to confess. With this interruption we'll be lucky to get him talking again before he calls in a lawyer." He snapped, his glare pinning Tony against the wall.

"Well, I was just thinking that it might have been the wife because, you know, she wanted the money from his parents. Abby just told me that he was a trust-fund baby. The divorce wasn't finalized yet, so that might be what she was after." DiNozzo, stammer slightly, trying to keep the quiver out of his voice.

"Except the wife was in Jamaica with her entire family, DiNozzo." Gibbs said, rolling his eyes, and walking back toward the door. With a second thought he slapped the back of Tony's head, and entered the room again.

"Right," DiNozzo muttered to himself.

"Never interrupt Gibbs in interrogation."


End file.
